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INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION: ITU to build united front against technology fakers; High-level talks to address counterfeit and substandard ICT devices(M2 PressWIRE Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Geneva - ITU will host high-level talks in a bid to improve global coordination in the application of information and communication technologies (ICT) as part of strategies to combat counterfeit and substandard ICT devices. Discussions on 'Combating counterfeit and substandard ICT devices' will be held at ITU Headquarters in Geneva, 17-18 November 2014 to take stock of the global challenges posed by counterfeit and substandard ICT products and the role to be taken up by ITU in response. Leading experts representing industry, governments, regulatory authorities, international organizations and standards bodies will participate. A focus of the event will be to examine the role of ICT innovations such as Big Data, Cloud Computing, Identity Management and the Internet of Things in tracing counterfeit goods and identifying their origins. A Call for Contributions open to the public is inviting input to this discussion until 3 November. "Consumers rely on brand names and international standards to provide an assurance of quality, and this assurance is relevant to consumers in developed and developing countries alike," said ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun I. Tour. "Counterfeit and substandard ICT products demand international action. Such products raise the risk of network disruptions and interoperability challenges that result in poor quality of service, with potentially dire consequences in emergency situations. They also pose major risks to consumers' health and safety and that of our environment, especially related to the disposal of e-waste from such products." "Counterfeiting is a complex challenge in need of a dynamic response in the public interest," said WIPO Director General Francis Gurry. "ITU's move to assist the global response to the counterfeiting challenge addressing the specificities of the ICT sector is a welcome development, to which WIPO is pleased to contribute." Counterfeiting and non-conformance with international standards have motivated the initiation of a range of counteractive strategies at the international, regional and national level. By leveraging its public-private membership base and longstanding experience in the ICT industry, ITU hopes to bring greater clarity and coordination to the role that ICTs play in executing these strategies. ITU's nascent engagement with counterfeiting comes in response to a new mandate conferred by its 193 Member States at the World Telecommunication Development Conference in Dubai, 30 March to 10 April 2014, which adopted Resolution 79 on 'The role of telecommunications/information and communication technologies in combating and dealing with counterfeit telecommunication/ICT devices'. For more information, please contact: Sanjay Acharya Chief, Media Relations & Public Information, ITU Tel.: +41 22 730 5046 Mobile +41 79 249 4861 E-mail: [email protected] For editors, additional quotes: - "Telecom Regulators are looking to protect mobile device end-users from stolen or cloned handset and non-compliant devices" says Jeff Edlund, CTO, HP Enterprise Services - Communications & Media Solutions. "HP is leveraging its real-time telecom products offering and working with SGS to provide a solution to track those devices and deny to them network access." - Roger Kamgaing, SGS Socit Gnrale de Surveillance SA: "As the world's leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company, SGS will participate in the ITU discussion on Combating Counterfeit and Substandard ICT Devices to share its experience in ensuring that goods meet the requirements of technical regulations and standards prior to exportation, as well as ensuring that all mobile terminals deployed are identified and managed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority." - Yoichi Maeda, CEO of TTC (The Telecommunication Technology Committee, Japan) and Chairman of ASTAP/APT: "The accelerating deployment of IoT and M2M solutions will see an estimated 50 billion network-connected terminals by 2020, making it essential to safeguard the quality and reliability of the underlying standards-based technologies. Battling counterfeit and substandard ICT devices will be crucial in this effort, and we are paying considerable attention to this issue in the telecommunity of the Asian and Pacific region. Discussions at ITU's event in November will help ITU to ensure that its services in conformance and interoperability testing can assist developing countries in facing up to the challenge of counterfeit and substandard ICT devices, as it is clear that this has become a very serious issue in these countries." - Joo Batista de Rezende, president of Anatel, Brazil: "In the latest years there was a growing importance of ICT Equipment in people's daily lives, such as smartphones and other mobile devices, and as a side effect, the increase of problems related to the sale, circulation and use of counterfeit and substandard ICT Equipment in the marketplace. In this sense, Brazil believes that ITU and other relevant stakeholders have a key role to play in fostering collaboration between the parties, through international dialogue, concerned to find alternative solutions that help consumer awareness regarding products that are harmful to the health of all." Visit our newsroom at http://www.itu.int/newsroom . (c) 2014 M2 COMMUNICATIONS |